Addicted to Garage Sales

I love garage sales.  I make no apology for it.  There is something exciting about finding things that I need for an incredibly low price, even if it is used.  I've found some great things over the past few summers; among them were a large baking pan that works great for a granola recipe I picked up from a bed and breakfast last year, and a pair of pint-sized glass milk jugs that I keep on the counter for flowers.  Many times, going to garage sales results in no finds, but once in a while, I find real gems.  This past weekend was one of those weekends!

I think half of the fun is just spending time with my husband as we drive all over the town, and sometimes into the country.  I enjoy getting up on a Saturday and knowing that my hubby and I will be spending the morning together shopping...what girl wouldn't like that?  Shopping with her best friend!  Usually it leads to finding other fun things to do around town. 

Our garage sale quest led me to find three things that I had been looking for, after several weekends of driving home empty-handed: a cold frame for spring planting, a potato pitchfork, and three glass power pole insulators for a craft idea.  Score!  Grand total for everything? $21.  The cold frame was new in the box, never used, for $12.  The pitchfork, very much used, was $6.  The insulators were $3.  Finding what you were looking for at discount prices and spending time with the hubs: priceless.  :)

Happy hunting during this summer garage sale season!

Frugality

Labor Saving/Money Saving

Now that I have to balance housework and a job, I've been looking into using items that will make housework faster, because I hate the idea of coming home from work only to do more work.  I also hate having to spend the weekend doing housework.  So I check regularly for coupons online that will allow me to pick up cleaning supplies and aids to help me out and leave some money in my pocket, too.  One such website is the Swiffer website, and by giving your address you will receive a coupon book in the mail for several Swiffer products.  I purchased a Swiffer sweepervac at Meijer a while ago for a grand total of around $8 (it was on sale, then I had about $15 in coupons for the vac), and I love it!  It runs on a rechargeable battery, and works great on hard surfaces (I have wood laminate flooring in our kitchen and linoleum in our bathroom).  I am also considering the Swiffer mop to replace the old Clorox mop that I purchased back in college and can no longer find refills for.  Another website that will occasionally offer coupon books is SC Johnson.  At the moment, the are not offering coupons, but they do have other tips for money savings.  While at Meijer one day, they had a display with SC Johnson coupon books, and I grabbed three!  Sometimes the opportunities are there when you least expect it.  Another website to check out is the Glade website--they are offering a contest to design a candle, and if your design is chosen, you can win cash prizes.  As in, up to $10,000.  So it's certainly worth checking out, and if you have time, design a candle!  Lysol, if you are a germophobe like me, is a great website to sign up for access to their product coupons.  You will have to create an account, and then you will be able to download and print out coupons for Lysol products (you will need to install a Coupon Printer program, like any online coupons).  Lots of great offers.  Proctor & Gamble often has a coupon insert in weekend newspapers, which is another good source for finding savings.  If you are looking for grocery coupons, check out these sites: RedPlum, SmartSource, CouponMom, Kroger (if you have one), and Coupons.com, among others.  They all have printable coupons that you can download.  (FYI: I have an e-mail account set up just for signing up for these websites.  I don't like getting spam, and don't want to use my regular account, so I set up a special e-mail just for this.)  Hope this helps!

Saving money is not just good sense, practiced through the ages; it is, like so many topics, talked about in the Bible.  The money we have is not really our own, but instead is a blessing from the Lord.  As such, we must treat it as something that God trusts us with to use for His purpose.  Yes, we have to use it to pay bills, provide clothing and food for ourselves, etc., but we are to use what's left responsibly.  Proverbs 21:20 says, "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has".